Abstract

Merida offers an exemplary case of the importance and strategic role of the CIO in a local government. Merida, like many other local governments, faces numerous problems in terms of adequate technical infrastructure, specialized IT staff, and support from public officials, among others. In addition, one of the main challenges of local eGovernment implementation is the lack of a central figure to promote progress, integrate decisions, and foster structural and procedural changes. In the case of Merida, the CIO played this role and created new regulations, homologated processes, and developed interactions among Merida’s different city government stakeholders through websites and cell phones. Merida is now a leader in citizen‑centered eGovernment services and provides fast and reliable responses to their daily needs. Based on the review of official documents and interviews with Merida’s CIO and his IT staff, this article identifies and describes some of the early challenges and success lessons of this experience. It also proposes a set of elements to incorporate in an integrated local eGovernment strategy. The article is organized into five sections: Section one is an introduction of the CIO problem in local governments. Section two provides background information about the city of Merida and its IT organization and infrastructure. Section three describes the arrival of the new CIO, his main objectives and motivations, and the results of some of his initiatives. Section four proposes ideas about the future of CIOs in local governments and their role within an integrated IT strategy. Finally, section five offers some concluding remarks and suggests areas for future research in this field